Carb Free Tacos

It's taken me about 35 years to admit something: Carbs are not my friend.

Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly.  My, oh my, how they also LOVE me.  So much so, they NEVER leave my side!  Or my butt.  Or thighs.  

So I have been looking for ways to eat less carbs and less (or no) processed food.  After about two days of carb withdraw, the subsequent foggy-head feeling has passed.  I actually feel really good.

Tonight I made one of Jacob's favorite meals--tacos.  This time I went the no-carb route, and I wanted to share the "recipe" with you.  (Okay, so I use the term "recipe" loosely.  I don't really measure out my ingredients but let my pallet do the talking.  I'll give you my guidelines, how is that?)

My husband LOVED them and said it was one of his favorite meals I've cooked!  The crisp lettuce really did make us forget about the carb-heavy shells or tortillas!  Here is a picture of one of his tacos:

You'll need:
1 lb. hamburger meat (or ground turkey)
2 hearts of romaine
1 ripe large avocado (or 2 small ones)
1-2 onions
Garlic
Limes (or lime juice)
Cilantro
1 large tomato

To make the Salsa:

• Dice up one large tomato   
• Finely dice 1/4 to 1/2 of an onion (more or less to your taste)
• Add 1 tablespoon garlic (more or less to your taste)
• Add 1-2 sprigs of roughly chopped cilantro
• Juice of one lime 
• Salt and pepper
• If you want a spicy salsa add freshly chopped jalapeno 
• Stir and then refrigerate until meal time.  The longer the better it will taste!

To make the Guacamole:

• Place the "meat" of your avocado in a bowl. (Set the core aside for later.)  Mash the avocado with a fork until most of the large chunks are mashed well.  
• Using a cheese grater, grate about 1/4 of an onion into the mashed avocado.  (Trust me on this.  It adds flavor throughout this way.)  Stir in well.
• Add about 1 tablespoon of lime juice.  Add a little salt.  Mix well.  
• Add about 1/3 cup of freshly diced tomato and mix.
• Place the avocado seed in the middle of the guacamole and cover with a lid.  Do not eat the core, but it will help your guacamole from turning brown from the exposure to air!  
• Refrigerate until mealtime.  The longer the better it will taste!

Clean the Hearts of Romaine:

• Just pull off the leafs of a heart of romaine.  
• Wash and dry each leaf well.  
• I selected the best leafs for my "taco shells." Those were the ones the most "boat-like" and had no tears in the leafs.  
• Keep them refrigerated so they crisp up until time to serve the meal. 

Brown your meat:

1. Finely chop about 1/2 an onion--more or less to your liking.
2. Begin sauteing the onion in about 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil.  I used butter.  (It added some richness to the meat, I believe.)
3. Add the raw hamburger meat to the onion to brown.  
4. Add salt and pepper to the meat mixture.  If you want more of a "taco seasoning" flavor you can add additional spices.  (Because the prepackaged seasonings have carbs and unknown additives, we like our meat seasoned only with salt and pepper.)
5. Drain excess fat and serve.  

There they are!  It really is very easy!  Of course you can add cheese, sour cream, beans and other things to your meal, but we found the fresh guac and salsa complimented the delicious hamburger meat perfectly!

Hope you enjoy!